The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations will be taking place for four days from Thursday.
Elizabeth II became Queen on February 6, 1952 following the death of her father, King George VI, while she was in Kenya on an international tour. The news was broken to her by her husband Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99 after more than seven decades by her side.
She is the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee - the 70th anniversary. Four days of celebrations will be held to mark the event in the United Kingdom. But New Zealand isn't missing out. Here is everything you need to know about celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in Aotearoa.
Wellingtonians and those tuning in virtually will be treated to a Jubilee beacon celebration at 9pm on Thursday.
The Wellington City Council event was organised in conjunction with Rotary New Zealand. The event will take place on the steps to the Tangi Te Keo Mt Victoria lookout.
It will begin with a karakia before mana whenua ignite a torch from a beacon and ascend to the lookout
The torch is handed to mayor Andy Foster, and former Governors-General The Right Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand and Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae who are long-standing Rotarians and are representing Rotary.
Together they will light the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacon.
A special choir - comprising of Wellington-based choirs Supertonic and Pacific Connection - will then sing A Song for the Commonwealth, a piece specially commissioned with the chorus in te reo.
The stream can be watched here.
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee will also be marked in Wellington with the Michael Fowler Centre and Carter Fountain being floodlit purple. The Michael Fowler Centre will be lit up between the hours of 6pm and 6am from June 3 to 6 and the Carter Fountain on Thursday night.
Purple is considered the colour of royalty. It was also the colour of choice for the Purple Robe of Estate worn by Queen Elizabeth II on her way back to Buckingham Palace following her coronation in 1953.
Another event to commemorate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee will take place on June 10 and see Wellington deputy mayor Sarah Free lead a group of invited guests, including representatives from Commonwealth countries, along a section of Wellington's Commonwealth Walkway.
The walkway features bronze markers attached to the ground which identify points of significance. They feature Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth's EIIR cypher.
The walkway was established in 2015 to mark the 150th anniversary of Wellington becoming New Zealand's capital city.
